


Second Chances

by wyluliwerewolf



Category: Trigun
Genre: Blink And You Miss It Slash, Character Study, Gen, I know nothing about guns but I tried, Implied Relationship, Other, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Vash has a way of changing people, Wolfwood being Wolfwood, fill in the blank, frank marlon deserves more love, people appreciating Vash for once, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27249586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyluliwerewolf/pseuds/wyluliwerewolf
Summary: When Wolfwood brings Vash his gun in Episode 18 of the anime, he mentions that Frank Marlon fixed it for free.  It turned out to be more than just a simple errand...
Relationships: Vash the Stampede/Nicholas D. Wolfwood
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marley_Millions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marley_Millions/gifts), [Neon_Lights_Vash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neon_Lights_Vash/gifts), [TiggyMalvern](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiggyMalvern/gifts).



It didn’t take much asking to find Frank Marlon’s gunshop. Everyone in town seemed to know who he was. Well within an hour of arriving in Warrens City, Wolfwood laid Vash’s gun on the counter.

Frank’s eyes widened, and he raised his eyebrows. “What are you doing with Vash the Stampede’s gun?” he said, putting one hand on his holster ready to draw.

So this was one of Vash’s friends. Best to tell the truth, then. Well, most of the truth. After all, if he’d been on the other side of the counter and some stranger showed up carrying that gun, he’d want to know what the hell happened to Vash, too.

“I’m a friend of his,” he said. “I was…in Augusta a little while ago and I found this. I’ve been trying to return it to him, but it’s like he’s just disappeared. Thought it could use some repairs while I’m at it.”

Frank still looked suspicious, but his eyes softened a bit, and he took his finger off the trigger.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen or heard anything from him for a long time. We’ve all been worried. …I don’t think he wants to be found.” After a moment, he began studying the gun while watching Wolfwood out of the corner of his eyes.

“So can you fix it?” Wolfwood asked. “For Vash?”

“For Vash, I’d do it for free,” Frank declared.

Frank bent down towards the counter as if about to tell a secret. Wolfwood followed. Frank leaned in close and whispered, “If you hurt him, I will personally hunt you down and make you wish you’d never been born.”

Well, that was a surprise. At least he had a better idea why Frank had been so damn suspicious the whole time. But just how did Frank know that whatever was going on between him and the outlaw was more than normally friendly? And why did Frank care so much? What was he, an old boyfriend or something? Ugh, leave it to Mr. Love and Peace to have a boyfriend in every town.

“Excuse me?” Wolfwood replied.

Frank leaned back and spoke as if nothing had happened, in the usual voice a shopkeeper talking with a customer. “The repairs will take about three days. Come back then. And tell Vash he’s always welcome here.”

Wolfwood nodded and turned to leave as quickly as possible. Halfway through the door, when he looked back, Frank had already turned away and was polishing a gun.

A few hours later, over a drink, Wolfwood asked some bar regulars about Frank Marlon. The interaction was still bothering him.

The middle-aged face brightened. “He’s our town hero,” she explained. “See that piece there?” She pointed to a shining silver gun hung on the wall above the bar, covered in ornate carvings. “He made that.” Wolfwood looked duly impressed, and didn’t even have to exaggerate.

“He’s saved our town twice now,” the bartender continued. “First time, when we were attacked by bandits, he gave us all guns he made himself. Second time, he drove off a band of outlaws with nothing but his fingers.” She mimed a finger gun. Wolfwood raised an eyebrow. That didn’t sound like the Frank he’d met, but it sounded a lot like someone else he knew.

“Frank used to come here all the time,” someone said.

The floodgates opened.

The others at the bar pointed toward where Frank used to sit. Talking over each other in excitement, they told taller and taller tales about how much Frank used to drink and how outrageously he’d acted. None of these descriptions sounded anything like the shrewd, clear-eyed man he’d met earlier that day.

“I don’t see him here now,” Wolfwood remarked off-handedly. “What happened?”

They looked at each other uneasily.

“You’re not from Augusta, are you?”

Wolfwood shook his head.

“This might sound crazy to someone comin’ from out of town, but Vash the Stampede brought him out of his funk. The Humanoid Typhoon himself, can you believe it?”

“Since that man came to town, we’ve never seen Frank drink a drop. He’s back to his old self and we’re glad of it.”

Someone slightly less drunk than the others jumped in, holding up his hands to forestall any angry objection from Wolfwood against what was now a very unpopular opinion on Gunsmoke. “Now don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not saying he’s a saint or anything,” the man said. “I dunno what happened in Augusta. But he did help us here.”

Wolfwood reassured them he wasn’t offended at all. If anything, listening to people who actually appreciated what Vash had done for them made him feel unexpectedly warm inside. Not that he’d admit it.

Wolfwood was already impressed by Vash’s effect on those around him, himself included. But never had he seen as sudden a transformation as the one Frank supposedly had. To suddenly stop drinking like that after so many years, forever? To Wolfwood, it seemed more miraculous than the crater on the damn moon. Wolfwood himself couldn’t just wake up one day and say, “I’m never gonna smoke a cigarette again,” and actually do it, no matter how much that needle-noggin nagged him.

When it was time to pick up the gun, Wolfwood walked into Frank’s shop with a smile. It felt a little odd, as if his face weren’t used to it. After carefully examining the gun, he looked Frank in the eyes. “I know how much he’s done for this town,” Wolfwood said, in a tone that hinted that he also knew what Vash had done for Frank, specifically.

He dropped his voice. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna let anything happen to him.” As if he could stop Vash from putting himself in danger. But that’s my mission after all, right? he thought bitterly.

More loudly, Wolfwood added, “I’ll tell him to come pay you a visit.”

He shook Frank’s hand and his steps were light as he walked out the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my beta reader @tiggymalvern for her helpful comments! 
> 
> I wrote this fic before I knew Dagdaddy and Neon well. Still, thank you Dagdaddy for giving me headcanons and challenging me to think more deeply, critically, and creatively. Thank you Neon for encouraging me, and inspiring me to write more spontaneously and take more risks.


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